1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector with an anti-mismatching mechanism, the electrical connector being adapted to electrically connect an integrated circuit (IC) package to a printed circuit board (PCB).
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional zero insertion force (ZIF) electrical connector is used to electrically connect an IC package to a PCB. The connector comprises a base associated with the PCB, and a cover slidably mounted on the base. IC package designs are continually evolving from generation to generation. A new generation of an IC package may either closely follow the original design of the former generation, or have a substantially new structure compared with the original design of the former generation. When only a single type of an connector is made, it is simple to make only one kind of base and one kind of cover thereof. However, in many instances, multiple types of connectors having some commonality are manufactured. These connectors share common parts, and can satisfy the different needs of different generations of IC packages. However, mistaken installation of the common parts can occur. For example, a commonly used cover of one type of connector may be mounted on the base of another type of connector in error. As a result, the assembled connector will not function normally. Conventional connectors liable to this problem are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,722,848, 5,833,483, 5,947,778 and 6,231,367, and in a related scientific article entitled Development of ZIF BGA Socket (Connector Specifier, May 2000).
Hence, a new connector having a structure for preventing mismatching is desired to overcome the above-described disadvantages.
An object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector having an effective anti-matching mechanism to avoid mismatching of a base and a cover of two different types of connector.
In order to achieve the aforementioned object, an electrical connector with an anti-matching mechanism in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a base electrically connectable to a PCB, a cover slidably mounted on the base, and an actuation device for actuating the cover to slide along the base. The base forms a projection thereon, and the cover defines a corresponding sliding slot. The sliding slot slidably receives the projection when the base and the cover are attached together. The base having the projection is configured to match only the cover having the sliding slot. Thus when assembling a base and a cover during manufacturing of multiple types of electrical connectors having similar structures, an operator can avoid mismatching of a base with the wrong cover, or vice versa. In an alternative embodiment, a projection is formed on a cover, and a corresponding sliding slot is defined in a base.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.